Zeldathon, World's Most Legendary Gaming Marathon, Blasts Off for Charity

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, an all-star gathering of over 60 video gamers will begin Zeldathon, a gaming marathon expected to last longer than five days, all to raise money for the humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief.

At Zeldathon, gamers play The Legend of Zelda series for 120 or more consecutive hours, while broadcasting their gameplay on Twitch, the leading social video platform and community for gamers and a primary sponsor.

With a fundraising goal of $200,000, the upcoming event will offer a variety of incentives and challenges, including sing-alongs, strange food combinations, embarrassing costumes, and more – tactics that have helped grow Zeldathon into one of the world's most successful gaming marathons for charity.

Since 2009, Zeldathon has raised more than $875,000 for charities. The latest marathon, held in late December 2015, drew 600,000 unique visitors and raised over $250,000 for the charity HelpHOPELive.

For more information, press assets, or to tune into the event, visit http://zeldathon.net.  

About Zeldathon
Zeldathon is a gaming marathon occurring multiple times a year broadcast out of northwest Pennsylvania. Since the first Zeldathon in 2009, 100% of funds raised through these marathons have gone directly to highly accredited charities worldwide. To date, the team has raised over $875,000. 
http://zeldathon.net

About Direct Relief
Direct Relief is a California-based nonprofit organization with a stated mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations. A global operation, Direct Relief provides humanitarian medical aid in all 50 states and more than 70 countries. Among other distinctions, Direct Relief has earned a perfect score of 100 from independent evaluator Charity Navigator, has been named among the world's ten most innovative nonprofits by Fast Company, and has received the CECP Directors' Award, the President's Award from Esri for excellence in GIS mapping, and the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. For more information, please visit https://www.DirectRelief.org.

About Twitch 
Twitch is the world's leading social video platform and community for gamers. Each month, more than 100 million community members gather to watch and talk about video games with more than 1.7 million broadcasters. Twitch's video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for the entire video game ecosystem. This includes game developers, publishers, media outlets, events, user generated content, and the entire e-sports scene. Twitch also features Twitch Creative, a category devoted to the creative process. For more information visit the Twitch website and blog.

Media Contact 
Elizabeth Rice
Assistant Director
The Zeldathon Team
[email protected]

Video - http://youtu.be/FrvCpYgdxr8 
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160614/379410

SOURCE Direct Relief

Related Links

http://www.directrelief.org